Rondo
The rondo (Italian, from “round”) is a form in which a main section, the refrain, keeps returning after other sections. It is often the final movement of a sonata. The archive holds two rondo movements: by Mozart (Sonata facile) and by Kuhlau (Sonatina in C major).
- Word
- Italian rondo, from “round” (Latin rotundus)
- Structure
- refrain alternates with other sections, e.g. A B A C A
- Names of the sections
- refrain; couplets or episodes
- In the sheet music archive
- Mozart, K. 545, 3rd movement; Kuhlau, op. 20 No. 1, 3rd movement
One section keeps coming back
A rondo is often the final movement of a sonata or symphony, in which the main theme keeps returning as a refrain after several intervening sections. The word is Italian: “rondo” means “round”. The music keeps coming back to the beginning as if travelling around a circle. The returning section is called the refrain and is labelled A; the sections in between are called couplets or episodes and get B, C and further letters. Possible orders are, for example, A B A C A or A B A C A B A. There is, however, no fixed rule; the orders are only models.
Refrain, other section, refrain: A B A in miniature
An original example of the structure: the refrain A (bars 1 and 2) consists of eighth notes and a quarter note, the other section B (bars 3 and 4) of eight rising sixteenth notes and two quarter notes, then A returns unchanged (bars 5 and 6). Every bar is in 2/4. The letters are above the first note of each section.
A refrain rhythm in two-four time
An original example with the rhythm from the beginning of the rondo in Kuhlau’s sonatina: an upbeat of two sixteenth notes, then in each of the first two full bars a dotted eighth note and five sixteenth notes. The notes are freely chosen. The upbeat is shorter than a bar, and every full bar has two quarter notes.
Two rondos from the archive
The sheet does not name the refrain and the couplets; you recognise them by their return. In Kuhlau the movement begins with the refrain, followed by a section with sixteenth-note runs, then the opening returns in bar 36. A middle section with a different accompaniment follows (from bar 52), then the refrain again in bar 84, a section that begins like bar 17, and the refrain in bar 119. After that comes other material, and shortly before the end the refrain is recalled once more in bar 151. So this sheet shows an order that corresponds to the pattern A B A C A B A, with a brief echo of the refrain at the end. In Mozart the opening with the same upbeat appears three times (bars 1, 21 and 53); before the last return, bar 52 holds a rest with a fermata.
| Rondo in the archive | Time signature and markings | Refrain begins in bar | What comes in between | Ending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mozart, Sonata facile (K. 545), 3rd movement | 2/4, “Rondo – Allegretto grazioso”, p | 1, 21 and 53 | The opening section has a repeat sign after bar 8; sixteenth-note figures in both hands already from bar 9, longer ones from bar 37; fermata in bar 52 | Bar 73 |
| Kuhlau, Sonatine C-Dur (op. 20 No. 1), 3rd movement | 2/4, “Rondo.” and “Allegro”, p | 1, 36, 84 and 119; briefly once more in 151 | Sixteenth-note runs from bar 17; from bar 52 a different accompaniment pattern, with “rallent.” and “a tempo”; from bar 100 begins again like bar 17 | “Fine” at the end of the fourth page |
Two rondo movements
-
Sonata facile, 3. Satz: Rondo Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545 · piano · 3 pages
At the left is written “Rondo – Allegretto grazioso”, time signature 2/4, no key signature. The piece begins with an upbeat of two eighth-note chords with p and fingering numbers. The same phrase appears with the same upbeat at the end of bar 20 and, after the fermata in bar 52, again before bar 53. The last bar is bar 73.
-
Sonatine C-Dur, 3. Satz: Rondo Friedrich Kuhlau, from: Three Sonatinas, No. 1, op. 20 No. 1 · piano · 4 pages
At the start of the first line is “Rondo.”, at the left “Allegro”, time signature 2/4, no key signature, p and an upbeat of two sixteenth notes. The opening section returns in bars 36, 84 and 119, each time with p; shortly before the end, in bar 151, its beginning appears once more, with p and “dolce”. On the fourth page “Fine” is written at the end.
Rondo, repeat signs and minuet
A repeat sign repeats a section immediately; in a rondo the refrain comes back only after other material. In a minuet with trio the opening returns after the middle section (“D.C.”), but only once; in a rondo the refrain returns several times. Mixed forms exist too: the sonata-rondo combines sonata form and rondo form. On the page for the minuet you can see how the “Menuetto D.C.” in Mozart is built, and on the page for the movement that a rondo is often the last of several movements.
Common mistakes
- Taking every return for a repeat sign: With a repeat sign the sign is in the music; in a rondo the refrain is written out again and again.
- Playing the refrain faster or louder when it returns: Kuhlau marks p again at each return in bars 36, 84 and 119; Mozart also begins with p every time.
- Playing the couplet like the refrain: The sections in between have different material, in Kuhlau for instance sixteenth-note runs; they may stand out in sound.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
CoupletEpisodeSonataSonatinaMovement (Satz)SymphonyMinuetDa capoFineRepeat signTwo-four timeRefrain
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
← Back to the glossary